Presser-foot



l. R. MOFFATT AND R. S. KELSO.

PRESS'ER FOOT.

APPHCATION men DEC.27. m1.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. R. MOFFATT AND R. S. KELSO.

PRESSER FOOT.

APPLICATION FILED 0c.27. I917.

1,355,160. Patented Oct. 12,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Jddie 31 f :19 I wmmtoa:

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

JAMES RIMOFFATT AND RALPH S. KELSO, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS 'IO UNION SPECIAL MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PRESSER-FOOT.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

Application filed December 27, 1917. Serial No. 209,070.

T 0 aZZ w 7mm it may concern Be it known that we, JAMES R. MoFnA'rT and RALPH S. KnLso, citizens or the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of" Cook, State of lll1no1s, have invented 'certain new and useful Improvements in Presser-Feet, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures or reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in a presser foot for sewing machines and more particularly to a presser foot which is adapted for use in a multiple needle machine wherein the needles are located abreast and close together.

An object of the vinvention is to provide a presser foot of the above character which is so constructed as to properly guide and hold the material in passing over cross seams or the like and particularly in the region ofthe needles.

' A further object of the'invention is to provide a presser foot of the above character wherein there are spaced outer pivoted sections engaging the fabric at each side of a seam being formed for joining fabric sectionsand wherein there is a central fabric engaging section which is capable of swinging about a pivot disposed centrally of the section and also of yielding bodily vertically.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings, which show by way of illustration, one embodiment of the invention:-

Figure 1 is a view partly in section and partly in' side'elevation, showing a portion of a sewing machine with our lmproved presser foot thereon;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the presser foot and the immediate portion of the cloth plate against which it bears;

F ig..3 is a plan view of the throat plate showing the feed dog and the needles, the needle being in section; I

Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section through the presser foot and the work support also showing the feed dog, needles and the loop ers, the central section of the foot being shown as slightly raised and tilted as a cross seam approaches the plane ofthe-needles; Fig. 5 is a similar-view showing the pos1- tion of the parts as a cross seam is leaving the presser foot;

Fig. 6 1s a vert1cal sectlonal view on the line 6+6 of big. 1, but showing the loopers.

"In a sewing machine having a plurality of needles set abreast, and particularly where the needles are set very close togetheiy it is practlcally impossible to place a feeding secinvention is to provide a presser foot which is especially adapted for use in connection with a machine having a dead space of the above character, which presser foot holds the material in cooperative relation with the feed dog so as to insure the material properly crossing said dead space and particularly when a cross seam passes underneath the foot. To this end the presserfoot is formed with a main shank on which is pivotallymounted two spaced fabric engaging sections locatedoutside the needles and cooperating with sections of the feed dog disposed directly beneath the same. Intermediate these spaced sections is a pivotally suping section in advance of the needle at certain times and with the feeding section in.

rear of the needles at other times, and which also yields to permit the side sections of the foot to cooperate with their respective feed-- ing{ sections at all times.

eferring more in detail to the drawings,

we have shown our improved presser foot applied to a sewing-machine having a needle bar .1 which carries a plurality of needles 2, 3 and 4. Cooperating with the needle 2 beneath the work support is a looper 5, while loopers 6 and 7 cooperate respectively with the needles 3 and 4. The material is fedacross the work support by a feed dog 8, which is provided with two outside feeding sections Sand 10, a rear feeding section 11 and a forward feeding section 12. The throat plate which is indicated at 13, in the drawings, is formed with suitable slots to receive these feeding sections, as clearly,

14, to receive the several needles. As will appear from the drawings the needles are close together and there are no feeding sec- Z This forms quite an extensive dead space or portion adgacent v tions between the needles.

the needles where there is no positive feeding action on the material. Cooperating with the feed dog is our improved presser foot which consists of a supporting shank 15. Said shank is mounted on "a presse'r bar 14:, which is of the usual construction.

i 17 is a fabric en 'a in section 19.

, The pivot for the section 18 is located at 20 and the pivot for the section 19 is'in line I therewithand located'at 21. These presser Said shank extends laterally and is formed with downwardly projecting side. portions 16 and 17 Pivotally attached to the side portion 16 is a fabric engaging section 18 and pivotally attached to the side portion- Ea'ch of these fabric engaging sections extend substantially'the entire length of the foot and are provided with upturned toe portions.

foot'sections 18 and :19 are directly over the respective feeding sections 9 and 10. Disposed between the sections 18 and 19, which are spaced from each other, is a central fabric engaging section 22. This section 22 of the presser foot is pivotally attached. to a support23 which is adapted to slide vertically in a bearing sleeve 24 formed integral with the presser foot shank The section 22 is pivoted to the support 23 by a pin 25. This pivot pin is located inline with the pivot pin 20 and it will be noted that all the pivot pins are disposed in. rear of the needles and midway between the ends of the fabric engaging sections.

A screw 26 1s threaded into the upper end of the suppoit23 and the head of this screw overlies the upper end of the bearing sleeve '24: and serves as a! means for limiting the. downward movement of said support; A spring 27 mounted on a supportlng screw 28 bears on the upper end of said support 23 and normally presses the same down wardly.

Our improved presser .foot is especially adapted for felling, wherein the width of the fell formed in the fabric sections is sub stantially the distance between the outer.

sections of the foot, and the felledseam is entered by all three needles and secured by side sections 18 and 19 of the foot will pass,

alongside of the interfolded sections of the fabric and bear on the single layer of fabric, thus holding the same firmly in contact with the respective feeding sections of the feed dog withwhich they cooperate It is understood, of course, that the spring which depresses the central section of the foot is of less tension than the spring which depresses the main shank of the presser foot so that this central section will yield before the outer sections yield. 7 the .foot firmly holds the interfolded portions of the fabric in engagement with the sections 11 "and12 of the feed dog so that these parts of the fabric'will be positively fed to the needles and away from the same. Letus assume that across seam formed in the fabric sections passes underneath the presser foot. As this cross seam approaches the needles the central section of the foot as well as the outer section will tilt said sections swinging about their pivots. This tilting of the fabric engaging sections of the'foot permits said sections to hold the fabric in engagement with the feed dog both in rear and in front of the needles, even when the, cross seam has passed underneath the forward portion of the foot. In other words, the cross seam will tilt the fabric engaging sections. of the foot but will not raise the rear end of the fabric engaging section of the foot off the'material. As soon as the cross seam passes a vertical plane containing the pivots of the foot sections the foot sections will tilt in the opposite direction which enables the forward ends of the fabric engaging sections of the foot to engage the material which is then in ad- Vance of the needles. As clearly shown in the drawings, the central section of the foot from the point 29 rearward thereof, inclines slightly upward relative to the section of The central section of the foot directly in advance of the point 29; This forms a flat'section whichbears on the fabric when the toe of the central section is raised. It will be understood, ofcourse,-that the central section swin s to a greater extent about its pivot than the side sections owing to the added thicknesses in the folded portions of the'cross seam which are being united. o

It is obvious that minor changes in; thedetails of construction and arrangementof parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit 'of the invention'as set forth in the appended claims. I

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A presser foot for sewing machines including in combination, a supporting shank, spaced fabric engaging sections pivotally' carried by said shank, a central fabric engaging section located between said spaced sections and means for supporting said cenan section whereby the same may yield bodily vertically independently of thepresser foot shank and the other sections of the foot carried thereby. 1

2. A presser foot for sewing machines including in combination, spaced fabric engaging sections located side by side and parallel to each other, a central section be tween said spaced sections and means for pivotally and yieldingly supporting said central section intermediate its ends whereby said central section may yieldbodily vertically independently of the presser foot shank and the other sections of the foot carried thereby and whereby the same may swing on its pivotal support.

3. A presser foot for sewing machines including in combination, a supporting shank, two spaced pivoted sections located side by side and parallel with each other, a central section disposed between said spaced sec tions, a support mounted for vertical movement on said shank, means for pivotally connecting said central section to said support and a spring for normally forcing said support downwardly.

4. A presser foot for sewing machines including in combination, a supporting shank, two spaced pivoted sections located side by side and parallel with each other, a central section disposed between said spaced sections, a support mounted for vertical movement on said shank, means for pivotally connecting said central section to said support, spring for normally forcing said sec tion downwardly, said vertically movable support having a screw threaded into its upper end against which said spring bears said screw serving to limit the downward movement of said central section.

5. A presser foot for sewing machines including in combination, a supporting shank, spaced fabric engaging sections pivotally carried by said shank, said sections being disposed side by side and parallel with each other, a central section located between said spaced sections, said'shank having a bearing sleeve, a support sliding vertically in said sleeve, said central section being pivoted intermediate its ends to said support and having the fabric engaging portion thereof in rear of its pivotal connection inclined upwardly relative to the fabric engaging portion in front thereof, a spring for engaging said support for moving the same clownwardly and means for limiting the downward movement of the support.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES R. MOF'FATT. RALPH S. KELSO. lVitnesses:

S. GEORGE TATE, STELLA HILL. 

